Fence-stretcher.



M. WILSON. FENCE STRETGHBR. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 27, 1909.

951,9?9. Patented Mar.15,1910.

DNITED STATESEATENT @FFTQE MATTHEW WILSON, F DYSAR'I,

IOWA, ASSIGNOR OI ONE-HALF T0 CARL FERDINAND BOSTROM AND ONE-HALF TO JOHN WILLIAM BOSTRGM, OF GARRISON, IOWA.

FENCE-STRETCHER.

Application filed August 2'7, 1909. Serial No. 514,947.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MATTHEW WILSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dysart, in the county of Tania and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Fence- I v Stretcher, of which the following is a speci fication.

My invention relates to fence stretcher-s and has for an object to provide a device of this character which will operate on the upper portion of an inclined fence post to straighten up the post and tighten the fence wires carried thereby.

Another object is to provide a device of this character which will form a rigid brace or prop for the straightened post until the regular brace can be supplied.

With the above advantages and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention embraces certain novel details of construction and combination of parts which will hereinafter be more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification ;Figure l is a view in elevation of a portion of a fence showing the wires slacked and a fence stretcher constructed in accordance with my invention applied thereto and in initial position for, stretching the wires. Fig. 2 is a view in elevation of a portion of a fence showing the wires taut and my improved wire stretcher applied thereto and in final position for bracing the fence post until the regular brace can be supplied. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the wire stretcher.

Referring now to the drawing, 3 designates the adjacent fence posts in a line of fencing and 4 designates fence wires supported upon the fence posts.

The fence stretcher consists of a pair of bars, one of which is terminally pivoted to the intermediate portion of the other, the former constituting the fulcrum and the lat ter the actuating lever of the device. The

actuating lever of the device consists of a bar preferably formed from metal terminating at one extremity in a pointed end 5 adapted to penetrate a fence post and at the other end in a rounded handle 6 which constitutes a convenient grip for the hand of the operator. The actuating lever is bent adjacent its middle point to form diverging 1 arms 7 and 8. The terminal portion 9 of the l actuating lever is parallel with the arm '7 being connected therewith by a short offset portion 10 which elevates the grip of the actuating lever to a substantially horizontal plane when the device is in its initial position.

The fulcrum consists of a substantially straight bar 11 preferably formed of metal terminating at one end in a foot 12 disposed approximately at right angles to the bar and adapted to penetrate the ground. The opposite end of the bar is provided with an annular opening through which and the actuating lever a pivot pin 13 is passed to connect the bars. The fulcrum bar is thus pivoted to the actuating lever at the point of divergency of the arms 7 and 8, so that the arm 8 may assume a position in alinement with'the fulcrum, as best shown in Fig. 2, when the device is in final position.

The foot 12 extending at right angles to the fulcrum bar may be readily driven into the ground by the operators foot and will securely anchor the device so that the entire leverage of the actuating lever may be utilized in straightening the post. I

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it is thought that the construction and operation of my invention will be easily understood without a more extended explanation. it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be made without sacrificing any of the advantages or departing from the spirit of the invention.

\Vhat is claimed is A fence stretcher consisting of ahandle lever bent adjacent its middle point to form diverging arms, one of said arms having a terminal post-engaging portion, the other of said arms having a portion constituting a grip for facilitating the manipulation of said post-engaging portion, and an anchor pivoted to said handle lever at the meeting point of said arms.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

MATTHElV lVILSON.

Witnesses:

F. M. SPRINGSTEEN, J. A. GRIMM.

Patented Mar. 15, 1910. 

